Greenpeace dumps coal at French presidential palace

Greenpeace activists dumped five tonnes of coal in front of France's Elysée presidential palace ahead of a Franco-German ministerial meeting, part of a protest calling for Europe to convert to renewable energy sources more rapidly.

Some 10 members of the environmental group parked a truck in front of the Elysée Palace before 7am local time and unloaded the coal, as well as polluted water taken from off the French coast.

The group wants Europe to obtain 45 percent of its energy through renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, by 2030.

Notably, it has called on Germany to use less coal and for France to scale back its use of nuclear energy.

The protest came ahead of a meeting in Paris between French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that followed a ministerial conference for representatives of the two countries.

The European Commission has set a target of obtaining 27 percent of the energy needs of member states from renewable sources by 2030.